70 kg 31:1 glider is here to stay?

On Fri, 19 Nov 2004 22:35:18 UTC, wrote:

: One guy buys a PW5. Another guy buys a Libelle or Std Cirrus, flys
: circles around the PW5, and has $10K or so left over to spend on booze
: or hookers or whatever. Who has got more enjoyment for his money?

I dunno. Why not ask them?

Ian


--

Charles,
I'll bet he paid less for the Nimbus he's flying than you could sell him a
PW-5.
A Nimbus won the region 9 sports class this year and the Nimbus isn't that
much harder to rig than a PW-5 (I've done both).
For me, I'm flying a nice Open Jantar that I know I paid less for than even
some of the used PW-5's currently on the market.
It is true that I probably can't land it in as small a field as a PW-5, but
then I can cover a lot more ground when I'm looking for a place to land, and
thus, have more options.
It is my opinion (and not only mine) that the older open class ships
represent some of the best values in soaring machines there are. Most have
nice comfy cockpits that aren't too sensitive to weight, most are fairly
easy to fly, and most of them climb really well and stay up well on weak
days. With the right rigging equipment, they aren't any more trouble to
assemble than your average 15 meter ship.
As for the one design aspect, I raced sailboats for 30 years at a fairly
high level both one design and handicap. I think one design sailboat racing
is a joke because no two are _exactly_ the same and the various class rules
range from ridiculously specific to almost meaningless. Most one design
classes ultimately end up something like the 1-26 class just to get the
participation.

Cheers! (flame suit on)


"Charles Yeates" wrote in message
...
Depends on pocketbook, eh? Some can afford a PW-5 and some ASH25M
Enjoyment of each can be equal.

Bill Daniels wrote:

If I am to joust with the forces of nature over hostile terrain, I want
all
the performance I can buy. Mother Nature just won't let you change her
rules.

Bill Daniels

On Fri, 19 Nov 2004 23:00:39 GMT, "Pete Reinhart"
wrote:
.. Most one design
classes ultimately end up something like the 1-26 class just to get the
participation.

Seems to be effective. Maybe there's a point there that everyone is
missing, like "fun"?

Charles Yeates wrote:
Depends on pocketbook, eh? Some can afford a PW-5 and some ASH25M
Enjoyment of each can be equal.


Charles:

This is exactly the case.

I have always thought that the huge increment in the
enjoyment of my life come from when I have wings.

The step I take I go from -0- wings to 20/1 wings is an
infinitely bigger leap than when I go from 20/1 to 40/1.

I look forward to the day when I can introduce my non-winged
friends to flying in a PW-6 or any other aircraft. The
magic occurs when we leave the ground and inhabit the sky.

Pete

Once you have flown, you will walk the earth with your eyes
turned skyward, for there you have been, there you long to
return." -- Leonardo da Vinci.

Peter D. Brown
http://home.gci.net/~pdb/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/akmtnsoaring/

----------
Dans l'article , Charles
Yeates a écrit :


Depends on pocketbook, eh? Some can afford a PW-5 and some ASH25M
Enjoyment of each can be equal.


And others like mysef and many members of my club can't afford anything,
or wouldn't have any money for paying for launches after buying a PW-5,
but our club can afford 4 LS4, 2 Pégases, 1 ASW24, 2 Discus, 2 LS6 (17.5
& 18m), so why would we even consider buying a PW-5?

Robert Ehrlich wrote:

----------
Dans l'article , Charles
Yeates a écrit :



Depends on pocketbook, eh? Some can afford a PW-5 and some ASH25M
Enjoyment of each can be equal.



And others like mysef and many members of my club can't afford anything,
or wouldn't have any money for paying for launches after buying a PW-5,
but our club can afford 4 LS4, 2 Pégases, 1 ASW24, 2 Discus, 2 LS6 (17.5
& 18m), so why would we even consider buying a PW-5?

To compete in the World Class competitions?

--
Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

Eric Greenwell
Washington State
USA

On Fri, 19 Nov 2004 15:41:19 UTC, "Bill Daniels"
wrote:

: Where I object to these low performance gliders is that they fly in the face
: of a century of soaring progress. They seem to say, "since we can't compete
: with the fast guys, lets change the rules".
:
: If I am to joust with the forces of nature over hostile terrain, I want all
: the performance I can buy. Mother Nature just won't let you change her
: rules.

On the other hand, traditional soaring is dying all over the world
while hang/paragliding are booming.

Ian

--

Uzytkownik "Ian Johnston" napisal w
wiadomosci
...

On the other hand, traditional soaring is dying all over the world
while hang/paragliding are booming.

Ian

I have tried paragliding once, and I know: never again. Too scary experience
as for me. In a glider, I sit in a cockpit, and feel without any doubt much
safer.
If it comes to hanggliding, seems to be safer, but I have seen enough
accidents to think a lot until I'll give it a try, however recently I have
started to compare the costs of beginning to learn hang-gliding and staying
here as a glider pilot.

Regards,


--
Janusz Kesik
Poland
to reply put my name.surname[at]gazeta.pl
-------------------------------------
See Wroclaw (Breslau) in photography,
The XIX Century, the Festung Breslau, and photos taken today.
http://www.wroclaw.dolny.slask.pl

Hi Janusz,

I'm actively "biwingual" (sailplane,435 hrs and paraglider,31 hrs).
Both aircraft require a high level of risk management but, for me, the
paraglider requires more. I've only been "scared" in paraglider one
time and I used it as a learning experience (it's also the reason I
fly a DHV 1 paraglider intended for novices). I can't say that I've
really been "scared" in the sailplane but have had moments of anxiety
from time to time.

I like the slow flying speed and convenience of the paraglider.
Yesterday, I decided to fly the paraglider - drove 10 minutes from my
house to the launch site and was in the air after a total of 20
minutes from leaving my house. The sailplane takes a bit more time to
get airborne.
Cu skies,
Steve
Tehachapi, CA

PS: Ian, I'm not sure that HG and PG are "booming" in the US. I don't
have the latest memebership statistics at hand but I recently heard
someone bemoaning the small membership numbers of USHGA. However, in
2002, membership increased 1,000 over the previous year to a total of
11,200 members.

"Janusz Kesik" wrote in message ...
Uzytkownik "Ian Johnston" napisal w
wiadomosci
...

On the other hand, traditional soaring is dying all over the world
while hang/paragliding are booming.

Ian

I have tried paragliding once, and I know: never again. Too scary experience
as for me. In a glider, I sit in a cockpit, and feel without any doubt much
safer.
If it comes to hanggliding, seems to be safer, but I have seen enough
accidents to think a lot until I'll give it a try, however recently I have
started to compare the costs of beginning to learn hang-gliding and staying
here as a glider pilot.

Regards,

"Ian Johnston" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 19 Nov 2004 15:41:19 UTC, "Bill Daniels"
wrote:

: Where I object to these low performance gliders is that they fly in the
face
: of a century of soaring progress. They seem to say, "since we can't
compete
: with the fast guys, lets change the rules".
:
: If I am to joust with the forces of nature over hostile terrain, I want
all
: the performance I can buy. Mother Nature just won't let you change her
: rules.

On the other hand, traditional soaring is dying all over the world
while hang/paragliding are booming.

Ian

Where I fly, hang gliding is dying. The survivors are taking up traditional
soaring. The HG people are finding traditional soaring is cheaper and much
easier on the knees.

Bill Daniels